I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change

While we are unable to consume theatre in the conventional way, I have been looking more and more to engage in theatre in new, digital, ways. One thing I've noticed, much to my delight, is that the small scale musical theatre pieces that I love seem to lend themselves to lockdown productions. I've been able to watch a new version of one of my favourite musicals, Ordinary Days, created in lockdown, plus I finally got to see The Last Five Years, and now I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change.

Unlike the other lockdown productions I've mentioned, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change was filmed with the performers together, but socially distanced, at the London Coliseum. Being a four-hander, in some ways the piece lends itself to physical distancing, but the theme of love and relationships really doesn't. Yet the clever staging and camera angles mean that, for the most part, you do not notice that anything is amiss. More than that, the production manages to transcend theatre and film, recorded and edited with a film quality yet staged in a theatre with a theatrical design. The decision to stage the piece facing upstage with the empty auditorium as the backdrop is hugely emotive. As an audience member you are filled with joy that this has been created in the most adverse of conditions by a cast and creative team thinking outside the box. But at the same time reminded of the devastating situation that there are theatres sitting empty across the country and audiences are forced to watch on a screen rather than having that irreplaceable in-person experience.

There are pros and cons regarding making a pre-recorded show available only at the time of the 'performance'. On the plus side, it does give a sense of coming together at the same time as other audience members like you would for live theatre. The downside is that if you experience any connectivity issues then there isn't the option to watch again. From a technical point of view, the stream was very smooth. The sound was a little quiet in places but it is hard to tell if that was an issue with the stream's sound or with my aging laptop. 

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change is a series of vignettes, presenting a multitude of unrelated characters, that look at dating, love and relationships from every possible angle. It is highly relatable as you will have been or met every one of these characters at some point in your life. The whole cast, comprised of Brenda Edwards, Alice Fearn, Simon Lipkin and Oliver Tompsett, are chameleon-like in their portrayals, morphing from character to character with great skill and ease. Although highly engaging throughout, the piece and performances build and build to a crescendo of highlights; Tompsett's stunning performance of Shouldn't I Be Less In Love With You?, Fearn's heart-wrenching version of The Very First Dating Video of Rose Ritz, and Edwards and Lipkin's beautiful creation of characters well beyond their own years in I Can Live With That.

A wonderful show, performed by a stellar cast, and made possible by the imagination and vision of the creative team behind it.